It stinks

12:00AM GMT 13 Feb 2001

IS there no limit to the man's effrontery? Over Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton disgraced the presidency of the United States by perjury.

But from the subsequent ordeal of impeachment he seems to have learnt nothing. His final days in office last month were spent thumbing his nose at supporters and detractors alike. Among those he pardoned was Marc Rich, a Belgian-born commodities trader who fled the country in 1983 after being charged with income tax evasion and illegal oil trading with Iran. Mr Rich's former wife, Denise, has given $1.3 million to Democratic causes, of which $450,000 went to the Clinton presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas.

As Dan Burton, a Republican congressman, said last week during hearings into the pardon: "We think the American people would like to know how it happened." On top of this, Mr Clinton and his wife, Hillary, newly elected senator for New York, made off with $190,000 worth of gifts from the White House. Only a storm of criticism at their light-fingered behaviour persuaded them to reimburse part of this sum.

Mr Burton would like Denise Rich to testify before the House. Senator Arlen Specter, another Republican, has spoken of summoning the former president to appear before the Senate. Whatever comes of these proceedings, the Democrats could profitably reflect on the damage that the Clintons are inflicting on them. The former first couple remain a formidable force within the party. Earlier this month, they succeeded in having their protege, Terry McAuliffe, elected as its chairman. A notable fundraiser, Mr McAuliffe is credited with turning the Clinton White House into a overnight stop for potential donors to Democratic causes.

Press and public alike are at last turning against this brazen couple. Their Parthian shot is becoming an electoral liability for the Democrats. It is time for them to draw a line under the Clinton era.